Sirinit Chanawong. Oral english communication strategies employed by first-year medical students, Mahidol University, in the 2004 academic year . Master's Degree(Applied Linguistics). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
Oral english communication strategies employed by first-year medical students, Mahidol University, in the 2004 academic year
Abstract:
This study was conducted to investigate oral English communication strategies
employed by first-year medical students of Mahidol University. In addition, students’
perceptions toward the use and effectiveness of each type of communication strategy
were also examined. The participants were 38 first-year medical students in the 2004
academic year. Data were collected by multiple methods: (1) an oral interview; (2) a
self-report questionnaire; and (3) a retrospective interview. Communication strategies
were identified and analyzed based on the taxonomy adapted from Færch and Kasper
(1983), Tarone (1977), and Willems (1987).
Results showed that the most used strategy was ‘literal translation,’ followed by
‘code switching,’ ‘self-repair,’ and ‘circumlocution.’ The least-used strategy were
‘appeal for assistance,’ ‘use of all-purpose word,’ ‘topic avoidance,’ with ‘word
coinage’ being the least used of all the strategies. The communication strategy that the
participants found effective for the most was ‘circumlocution.’
These findings suggested that communication strategies help students overcome
difficulties in oral English communication. By enhancing students’ strategic
competence, their communicative competence could be improved.